I really thought maybe mainstream country was starting to turn a page and beginning to make at least palatable music with people like Jamey Johnson and Miranda Lambert, but the recent crop of single releases and #1 albums might be the worst music ever put out on Music Row. Ever. And don’t take my word for it, take it from the mainstream country fans themselves.

This week it was announced that Toby Keith’s Bullets in the Gun album is the new #1 in country. However this is the worst-selling country music #1 album since stats like this have been kept according to Billboard. A sheepish 71,000 copies sold, and even this is addition by subtraction, as the main reason it’s #1 is Kenny Chesney’s Hemingway’s Whiskey went in a 64% tailspin from it’s #1 perch last week, helped little by its terrible single “The Boys of Fall.”

About 5 weeks ago Music Row reported that country sales for the first time had fallen below the year-to-date sales of all other genres of music. Country has weathered some of the music industry contraction by incorporating mainstream rock and pop fans, but now that might be running dry.

That same Music Row article also opined that help was on the way, because some of the most-anticipated album releases of 2010 were coming up, including Toby Keith and Kenny Chesney. But halfway through the year’s strongest release period, and still things look more dismal than ever.

The country music industry continues to blame digital music and piracy for all their problems. Without question technology is having some effect, but part of that effect might be turning people on to non-mainstream music that is more heartfelt, innovative, and fresh. Pop country is like fast food. There was a time when people thought it was fine to eat big mac’s all the time, but consumers are smarter now, and they understand they have better choices. The music industry must figure out how to be innovative and farm new talent, and how to retool their infrastructure to the widening contraction. If not, their life expectancy will start to be measured in months, not years.

Toby got a little to caught up with the “boot in your ass” song. (Courtesy of the Red White and Blue)

Everything after that became Paisley like. I can’t believe there isn’t more on this site when it comes to bashing pop country than the “Kind of Pop (country)” himself Brad Paisley. Pick a word and write a “jingle” around it. Ticks, Water, Future, etc…that dude should be writing commercials. And buy a guitar that isn’t from the children’s toy isle at WalMart.

Anyway, Toby is the “outlaw” for the pop country movement. His fans are like WalMart shoppers. Everyone at WalMart looks like they should be at WalMart. Every Toby fan, your like “oh, sure, I figured you like him”.

I think the difference between Brad Paisley and Toby Keith is Toby Keith takes himself way too seriously and Brad is not afraid to laugh at himself. And Wal-Mart guitar or not, Brad is possibly the best telecaster player in Nashville. His bit songs are annoying and that is why I would not call myself a Brad Paisley fan, but I have a lot of respect for his as a musician.

Agreed. Sometimes I’ve worried that Toby Keith’s flag waving is just marketing, trying to capitalize on patriotic sentiment. But I have no doubt, if only from Toby’s insistence about these things, that the dude really is a troop supporter and he’s showed that in many ways throughout the years. Even if it is marketing it doesn’t make it wrog, and he deserves props for that.

The piracy excuse is complete bullshit because mainstream country albums rarely leak early. Also, the commercial country fanbase is still the most likely to purchase CD’s. I think even moreso than the slide towards pop, the general sameness in the genre is to blame for the watering down of sales and interest.

The commercialism of country music is to blame for its downfall. As long as the greedy fucks of Trashville ( “TRASHVILLE”, a name given to The Home Of Country Music by TRUE music lovers because it has been milked for the best penny by greedy fucks like Mike Curb”) who seek the biggest and most gullible dollar for a return profit! Sites like this ARE the reason for Trashville losing money. Sites like this that promote REAL unadultrated, polyunsaturated music for the music lovin ear of the real “straight from the box” LISTENERS of a good tune. Sorry if that sonds like an ass kissin to some of you folks but I’ve gotten a hell of a lotta better music off this site than I have off of “FM” radio!

I’m gonna post this here instead of the forum as it is kinda along the same lines and I cannot remember my password(again!) I know you have lots of heaping servings on your plate but I thought you might dedicate a minute or two to compiling a list of top worst number one pop country singles just so’s some of your readers can hear for themselves how bad pop country can be. Yessir. Sometimes hearing is believing. Maybe like a Letterman top ten why you should never listen to pop country. Just a thought.

Right now Denise I’m just trying to keep up with all the crappy songs and albums that have been put out in the last few weeks, and I’m not kidding. Like I said above, this is the worst stuff ever, songs and albums, and I don’t just want to focus on them, but all the GREAT music coming out as well. Sugarland is the next in my crosshairs.

Sugarland and Lady Ante-awful make Rascal Flatts look like Flatt n Scruggs.
The change has begun. The brain wizards in Nashville are unloading all the shit at once, pre-holidays, for one last run at the pop-country teen crowd. New awful artists and new awful records.

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Saving Country Music disseminates information about the state of country music, the underground country music movement, and the underground and DIY movements of roots, rockabilly, bluegrass, blues, and folk music.
It offers news, opinion, concert and album reviews, artist profiles, music history, and occasional off-color pop country bashing.